Thursday, February 12, 2009

Most of you know that Jeremy Lusk passed away by now. This is truly horrible news in every single way. I did not know a lot about Jeremy, until the past couple of days, but it sounds like he was a one of a kind guy. One thing about Lusk that was undeniable, were his skills.

I took a letter from Eric Apple that was posted on TWMX.com about Jeremy's final hours. I don't want to contribute to anymore rumors or false stories out there, so here it is right from the source:

"There are so many rumors and questions going around, I think it is time that everyone know the truth. By now the entire action sports community, especially the motocross world, has been hit with the news,that X Games Gold Medalist , Jeremy Lusk, 24, has passed away from traumatic brain injuries incurred while competing in the sport of freestyle motocross that he loved so much. Perhaps the hardest hit, were Jeremy’s families. I say that in the plural sense. Not only is Jeremy survived by his parents and wife, he is survived by another family, that being the Metal Mulisha.This passed Saturday night, most of our close friends began calling each other, asking if the other had heard about Jeremy’s crash, and if he was OK. Within an hour, I had spoken to some other riders and their wives who were here in San Jose , Costa Rica, where I write this now. Jeremy knocked himself unconscious, and had to be rushed to Calderon Hospital. He underwent emergency brain surgery to relieve massive inter-cranial pressure that had built up from the crash. They were able to remedy the situation for the time being, but apparently, the damage had been done.Within hours of Jeremy’s emergency surgery, his wife ,Lauren, was by his side. Lauren flew down with her father late Saturday night. Some of us knew that we had to get down here, because Jeremy and Laurenneeded us; they were in trouble. Cameron Steele, Brian Deegan, Ryan Hagy, and myself were on the way Sunday morning. We had no idea what we were getting into, we just knew that our brother was hurt, and it was important for us to be there with him.Upon landing we went straight to Calderon Hospital. The scene was hard to swallow. It’s tough to see someone you love in that condition. Lauren was waiting for us, ever so strong, next to the love of her life. The wheels in our heads starting turning immediately; we had to make sure Jeremy got the best care possible, or get him back to the U.S. where he could get the best care possible. With the help of countless friends and industry members at home, and especially La Jolla Group CEO Toby Bost, we explored every possibility, including flying in a neurosurgeon to Costa Rica, and transporting Jeremy via a flying intensivecare unit. Jeremy was in a coma, and wasn’t improving at all. We knew we had to act fast.Jeremy’s parents, were on a plane Monday as we continued frantically to find a solution to the situation Jeremy was in. We met with the head doctor of the Intensive Care Unit, the neurosurgeon , and the director of the entire hospital several times trying to understand the situation and what the best course of action would be.By Monday afternoon, Jeremy was beginning to deteriorate. His left lung wasn’t working very well, and his blood pressure was falling. These complications were starving his brain of the valuable blood and oxygenit needed to recover from the massive hit he took. The doctors told us there was little hope and that they would be surprised if Jeremy made it through the night. We stayed by Jeremy’s side all evening and afternoon, praying over him, and waiting for any sign of hope.Jeremy’s parents, along with Lauren’s mother and sister, arrived at the hospital at approximately 11pm. Within seconds of his parents walking into the ICU, alarms were going off on Jeremy’s monitors. His blood pressure was dropping fast , and his body temperature was at 105 degrees and rising. It was the beginning of the end. All of us stood by for the next hour, praying, hugging, crying, and watching as Jeremy Lusk slowly slipped away to Heaven. Being the hard ass that Jeremy is, even in a coma, he had something to prove. And that was that he could hold on, just long enough, for his parents to see him one last time.This was one of the hardest things I have ever been through in my life. But I hope each of us takes something away from this. For myself, I realized that although Jeremy was very young, he went out on top. He steadily rose through the ranks of the FMX world for the last several years, and achieved some amazing goals in his life that most people could never dream of. He also went out on top in his personal life; he enjoyed an amazing life as a born again Christian with his beautiful wife Lauren.I also realized that I am part of something that is so special and different. That is the Metal Mulisha. The effort that was put forth by everyone here blew me away. All of us dropped our lives in a heartbeat and gave everything we had over the last 72 hours. I am so proud of the action and work that my friends and colleagues put in. I am truly honored to be considered part of this brotherhood and to be backed up byfriends like this.I’m honored to have known Jeremy. When I first met him, I knew there was something special about him. I knew he would fit into the Mulisha way before Deegan actually got to know him. Jeremy proved me right. There was something special, he was a champion on and off the bike.Eric Apple"